Dexter Gordon: As Time Goes By

After a long expatriation, Dexter Gordon came home during the height of 1970s fusion confusion, and helped restore jazz to its senses. Forget the electrified gimmickry of Varitones and Echoplexes; all Dexter needed was an acoustic backup trio and his trusty tenor sax. Plus, of course, an unforgettable standard. Bogie, nursing a drink and broken heart in Casablanca (1942), muttered through gritted teeth, "If she can take it, I can take it." But Dexter, the ever-superior balladeer, makes us adore this tune even sober. "Moonlight and love songs," goes the lyric, are "never out of date." Nor is Dexter Gordon.